Do we perhaps put too much stock in the launch of a console? Console cycles are often described as marathons rather than sprints and to place much emphasis on the first 6-12 months of a console I believe seems to lead to inappropriate conclusions about that console's fate. Here are a few examples:

PS3 - horrible launch, games weren't there, prices were high etc. Worldwide on par with X-box for total sold.

Nintendo DS - terrible launch as well perhaps one of the greatest consoles released (imo) but it definitely has sold a lot.

X-box 360 - I think there are some launch goggles for this one because I think people forget there really wasn't many games at launch (Geometry wars and PGR) and the hardware had red ring for years. By all accounts the 360 was a highly successful product and I think paved the way for Microsoft to start building hardware themselves (Surface).

It goes on and on. (PSP, PS Vita, PS2 and Dreamcast)

I have some serious concerns for the next X-box for a few reasons.

#1: Exclusive content on their platform is becoming scarce. As much as Nintendo rehashes stuff, Microsoft is more guilty of it because they only have a very small handful of IP that they call their own. How many more Halo games can the market take? A bunch, but is that enough to sustain a platform given Steam and its incursion into the living room.

#2: X-box Live is overpriced. One of the greatest strengths is really being undercut by Sony/Valve with respect to the actual savings PSN+/Steam users are getting for the same game.

#3: Hardware hesitation. Just like there is now a rule of thumb in the internet to not buy the first gen of Nintendo products (GBA, DS, etc.) and Apple products because of inevitable iteration and significant improvement, the next X-box could be chilled by the fact that owners of X-boxes that have red ringed may have less enthusiasm until the hardware proves itself.

Honestly, I have serious doubts that the dedicated gaming console market is viable beyond 3 major players.

Count me as one of the three that liked your Sesame Street reference, Wombat.

Also, though I'm only part way through the CAGcast at this point, but how many times does Cheapy make a comment after Shipwreck just said the same thing? I heard two, but it sounded like Cheapy was "preoccupied" and not following the conversation.

People looking into Far Cry 3 as being racist are looking too much into it. I'm Asian and I didn't find it racist at all. So it's a white guy who happened to be on an Asian island so of course you're killing Asian dudes. You kill white people too but people seem to forget that. Let's not forget that people said RE5 was racist cuz you're a white guy killing black people in AFRICA. But they forgot your partner is a black woman for some reason. I'm with Cheapy on this issue. It's not racist.

X-box 360 - I think there are some launch goggles for this one because I think people forget there really wasn't many games at launch (Geometry wars and PGR) and the hardware had red ring for years. By all accounts the 360 was a highly successful product and I think paved the way for Microsoft to start building hardware themselves (Surface).

Okay, all my responses are going to come off as if I'm an Xbox fanboy here, but this is how I honestly see the situation. The first year of the 360 was loaded with games. Call of Duty 2, Oblivion, Hit Man: Blood Money, Dead or Alive 4, Burnout Revenge, GRAW, Dead Rising, Condemned, Saints Row, F.E.A.R., Splinter Cell: Double Agent, Gears of War. There was never a lack of games for the console.

It goes on and on. (PSP, PS Vita, PS2 and Dreamcast)

Dreamcast and PSP actually had very strong first year lineups.

I have some serious concerns for the next X-box for a few reasons.

#1: Exclusive content on their platform is becoming scarce. As much as Nintendo rehashes stuff, Microsoft is more guilty of it because they only have a very small handful of IP that they call their own. How many more Halo games can the market take? A bunch, but is that enough to sustain a platform given Steam and its incursion into the living room.

Halo is huge. Having a small stable of really proven IPs has been a winning formula for Microsoft.

Steam has an unbelievably minimal impact on Halo's future.

#2: X-box Live is overpriced. One of the greatest strengths is really being undercut by Sony/Valve with respect to the actual savings PSN+/Steam users are getting for the same game.

I don't think Xbox Live is overpriced. Do I like paying for it? Nope. But, look at their subscriber base and people voting with their wallet think the service is worth it.

#3: Hardware hesitation. Just like there is now a rule of thumb in the internet to not buy the first gen of Nintendo products (GBA, DS, etc.) and Apple products because of inevitable iteration and significant improvement, the next X-box could be chilled by the fact that owners of X-boxes that have red ringed may have less enthusiasm until the hardware proves itself.

I don't think the Red Ring will have much effect on the next Xbox's sales at all. Microsoft replaced everyone's consoles and the models they've been selling for the past 5 years haven't had a bad failure rate. The majority of 360 owners at this point likely don't even know there was an issue.

Honestly, I have serious doubts that the dedicated gaming console market is viable beyond 3 major players.

Okay, all my responses are going to come off as if I'm an Xbox fanboy here, but this is how I honestly see the situation. The first year of the 360 was loaded with games. Call of Duty 2, Oblivion, Hit Man: Blood Money, Dead or Alive 4, Burnout Revenge, GRAW, Dead Rising, Condemned, Saints Row, F.E.A.R., Splinter Cell: Double Agent, Gears of War. There was never a lack of games for the console.

How many of those games were 360 exclusives (besides Gears)? I can't remember and I'm curious. As the only next gen system out that year, I wonder how much the 360 benefited from straddling generations, getting better versions of games that were being made to satisfy a huge PS2 install base. It didn't hurt, either, that 360 development/porting was a breeze compared to PS3 for a loooong time.

Given that both the next Xbox and PS4 are (supposedly) going to be built from more standard PC parts, I don't expect that kind of multiplatform disparity. I see the Xbox getting a carryover bump from current gen perceptions, but unless they put a lot of money into exclusive content, the playing field for Microsoft and Sony should be more even this time around.

Just as some reference for everyone about the Defiance discussion, here's the Defiance YouTube channel. Videos about the show, the game, and how they'll tie in to each other.

The Red Faction Syfy movie was just a prequel to the game. Defiance is planning that what goes on in the show will be reflected in the game and in some small ways what gamers do will show up in the show. I dismissed it at first too but the show previews look good. Real good. My biggest question is the game, which kind of looks like Borderlands but I wonder how it'll play.

Good job belittling me for saying Shipwreck twice instead of acknowledging the show wasn't that great without him. It's not even that he wasn't there. It's the fact that the ratio of Wombat to interesting/competent hosts was off.

Good job belittling me for saying Shipwreck twice instead of acknowledging the show wasn't that great without him. It's not even that he wasn't there. It's the fact that the ratio of Wombat to interesting/competent hosts was off.

You deserved that and more for acting like the show shouldn't happen if Shipwreck can't be there. Cheapy/Wombat shows were fine in the past, and they are still fine now. If you can't stand CAGcasts without Shipwreck on them then don't fucking listen to them.

You deserved that and more for acting like the show shouldn't happen if Shipwreck can't be there. Cheapy/Wombat shows were fine in the past, and they are still fine now. If you can't stand CAGcasts without Shipwreck on them then don't fucking listen to them.

But now Cheapy and Wombat aren't gamers, they're parents. It's wierd having a game podcast where only 1/3 of the hosts actually play very many games. It's kinda terrible having one with no gaming hosts.

But now Cheapy and Wombat aren't gamers, they're parents. It's wierd having a game podcast where only 1/3 of the hosts actually play very many games. It's kinda terrible having one with no gaming hosts.

Exactly. Wombat and Cheapy always seem to get off track without Shipwreck to remind them it's a video game podcast. I don't mind listening to other stuff but the quality definitely drops without Shipwreck.

But now Cheapy and Wombat aren't gamers, they're parents. It's wierd having a game podcast where only 1/3 of the hosts actually play very many games. It's kinda terrible having one with no gaming hosts.

I completely disagree, but I am a father who plays games w/ his 3 kids who are under the age of 6 so maybe I am a little biased when I say that the perspectives of Cheapy & Wombat have more interesting layers & have a broader range when considering which games to play &/or talk about. I played Condemned in a creepy basement alone in the dark as well as danced w/ my kids in Nickelodeon Dance. I try & weigh the merits of potential purchases for games in all genres more frequently & more selective due to less personal gaming time. Maybe you need a more concentrated array of multiple games but I listen to the podcast because of the natural flow of the stream rather than a manufactured reservoir of nodes filled w/ demands & absolute expectations. By no means am I comparing Shipwreck's value, because I am new to the podcast & today's was good; however, I do appreciate the contributions of CheapyD & Wombat w/ or w/out. Just my opinion man.

Isn't this pretty much the same thing that was rehashed when Resident Evil 5 came out?

What are the devs supposed to do, replace the natives with white people? Wouldn't the same people getting upset over shooting the natives also get upset if they weren't given any representation in the game?

Believe it or not, almost all of them. Splinter Cell was the only one that came out the same day for PS3.

Oblivion and FEAR made it to PS3 but a year after the 360.

Every other game in Shipwreck's very long list never came to PS3.

The answer probably doesn't change, but when I said "exclusive" I meant not on the PS2 (or PC, I guess). I just wonder how much of the 360's early success was a factor of it being the next big system, how much was its PC-compatible architecture, and how much was it riding the coattails of development for games also being made for the PS2.

NONE of which takes away from the things Microsoft did right at the start of this gen.

The answer probably doesn't change, but when I said "exclusive" I meant not on the PS2 (or PC, I guess). I just wonder how much of the 360's early success was a factor of it being the next big system, how much was its PC-compatible architecture, and how much was it riding the coattails of development for games also being made for the PS2.

NONE of which takes away from the things Microsoft did right at the start of this gen.

Getting a year headstart was HUGE for the 360.

Having PS4/720 coming out around the same time (an assumption, but most people believe it to be true), means both companies having to focus more on exclusive games to try to force a decision for people that can't afford both systems.

MS did have a bigger focus on exclusives the first year or two. Most of them didn't stick though. Kameo, Perfect Dark, Too Human...they also had quite a few during the life cycle of the OG xbox.

The thing with the 360 launch is it was there first. It was the first "next gen" system out there, and the games looked pretty good at the time. Yes a lot of the games were on PC, but getting Oblivion, Fear and GRAW on the 360 was a blessing. If Sony can proove that this time around ports are easy and they have the same audience then less and less games will be console exclusives. MS is most likely going to invest in Kinect only titles and the few first party titles they have.

IMHO I rather have Gears, Halo, Forza and a few highly accaimed exclusives over a dozen so-so exclusive title or nothing at all. I think what MS will fail to do is get anyone who is a primary PC player to buy a 360 since so many games will be on the PC anyways. But looking at exclusive lists the PC always wins.

For the love of God please do not call the Wii U next gen either Not when graphics are just on par with the 360.

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